Reality
by Giola
Summary: It started as a really bad day...  Rose had been fired by her boyfriend, dumped by said boyfriend, injured her knee, chucked her wireless out the window and, oh yeah, was entered in a wizarding reality competition by her cousins.  Over 2500 reads!
1. Day One: Part 1, A Really Bad Day

I yawned, drained my cup of coffee and levitated it into the sink. I ran a finger through my hair, half listening to the wireless in the background.

"...and the day most of wizarding Britain has been waiting for has finally arrived! Today is the final day for applications to the inaugural Blishwick Competition, supported by the Blishwick family in conjuction with Magiscreen.

For any of you who may have been living under a rock recently, the Blishwick family, at the request of the late Banjo Blishwick, have sponsered the very first wizarding reality program on Magiscreen, the wizarding world's answer to Muggle televi-"

Finally finding my wand, I flicked it at the wireless, groaning to myself. The 'competition' was everywhere; front page of the Prophet, in every update on the wireless, in the nightly programs on Magiscreen, they even had a small article in the Quibbler.

I, unlike most of wizarding Britain, thought the entire idea was completely ridiculous and barbaric. Honestly, what kind of person had nothing better to do than watch other people live their lives on Magiscreen? So what if the 'contestants' will be put through 'trials' and the whole thing would be held in a jungle on some island that was supposed to be 'oh so romantic'? Furthermore, who the hell entered the competition? Sure, you won some money, but it was so GOD DAMN STUPID!

Grumbling to myself, I grabbed my bag and apparated to work. I was currently in my second year as a Mediwizard, working primarily at St Mungo's. I did get to work at the Quidditch game last week, Dad almost turned purple when I told him I fixed the Cannon's Keeper's wrist.

"Hey Rose." Beverly waved to me from the receptionist's desk as I appeared in the foyer.

"Morning Bev." I replied, heading towards the corridor leading to the Mediwizard quarters.

"Ben said he wanted to see you." She added, smiling slightly at me.

"Thanks." I muttered, heading on my way.

Ben MacDougal was my boss and a senior Mediwizard, three years above me. We'd also been dating for a couple months.

"Hey Ben." I said, smiling as I stepped into his office, making to kiss his cheek.

"Rose." He said, stepping back, leaving me standing their awkwardly, wondering why he wouldn't let me touch him.

"What's wrong?" I asked warily, my eyes narrowing.

"Uh, Rose, look...this isn't coming from me, it was higher up..." He trailed off, a hand running nervously through his hair.

"What?" I hissed at him; he had his 'bad news' face on.

"You're fired." He said, not looking at me, instead choosing to shuffle the papers on his desk.

I stared blankly at him, in shock. After a moment or two, I exploded.

"I'm fired? What the hell for? I didn't do anything! How could-"

He cut me off, casting a non-verbal silencing charm on me.

"Rose, stop it. There's nothing I can do." He said, turning away from me.

I glared daggers at his back, crossing my arms. He must have removed the spell, because the ability to make sound came back to me suddenly.

Instead of yelling at him, I picked up the nearest object, his glasses' case, and chucked it at his back to vent my frustation.

"You silencioed me!" I said indignantly.

"Well, you weren't taking it well." He said, turning to face me.

"What did you expect? That I'd just waltz out of here smiling? What the hell did I do to deserve getting _fired_?" I said, glaring at him, my arms crossed.

He sighed, again choosing not to look at me.

"Look, Rose, you're performance hasn't been up to scratch lately. They gave you a few weeks, but we haven't seen anything remarkable from you. With the budget cuts...we just can't afford mediocrity." He said, sitting down in his chair.

I gaped at him.

"Well, fine." I huffed. "I guess I can't afford mediocrity in my relationships then either." I marched to the door, my hand on the doorknob.

"We're over, Ben." I said, walking out of his office, my former workplace, and my former life before he could respond.

I sat on the ground, the pile of bills yet to be paid strewn around me. This morning, I thought I'd be able to pay them. Now, I was unemployed, single and pathetic.

Great.

I wandered around my house in a zombie-like state, not really sure what to do. I didn't want to face any of my family, they wouldn't take my new unemployed state lightly, and I wasn't sure I could deal with that now.

In need of a distraction, I flicked the wireless on again, plopping myself down on the couch.

"Only a few hours left, folks! MagiScreen's reporting a thousand applicants so far for the competition, so we can be sure that tonight, the official opening of the competition and announcement of the successful applicants, will be exhilirating and emotional for most of Britain!"

Hearing yet another bulletin about the stupid competition set me over the edge. I flicked my wand at the wireless, causing it to implode in a cloud of smoke. I then levitated it out the window.

Whilst it was temporarily satisfying, it took me just over a minute to realise I had no money to buy a new wireless.

Wordlessly fixing the window, I grabbed my bag, determined to get out of my house just for something to do. Moping was _not _helping.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, clutching at my now bleeding knee. I'd apparated to my cousin Al's apartment, but I'd obviously misjudged, since my knee was now bleeding.

Just what I need.

I knocked on my cousin's door, trying to stem the blood flow at the same time.

"Al! It's Rose! Let me in." I said, banging on the door with one hand.

"Rose?" Al said, pulling the door open. "Why aren't you at work?" He said, letting me in.

"I could ask you the same question." I snapped, sitting down at the table and waving my wand over my knee.

"What'd you do?" Al asked, sitting opposite me.

"Misjudged the location of your doorstep." I said bluntly, causing Al to laugh.

I narrowed my eyes at him, not really in the mood to be laughed at.

Once he shut up, he quickly turned to what I labelled the 'serious interrogation mode'. Everyone in our family has one when it comes to the welfare of other family members.

"So, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at work?" Al said, scrutinizing my face for some emotional reaction.

I sighed.

"I got fired. Something about budget cuts and mediocrity." I grumbled, letting my head fall forward to rest on Al's table.

Even though I couldn't see him, I swear I could feel his eyes boring into my head.

"Oh, Rose..." He said, trying to be sympathetic.

He awkwardly patted my back, and then left me to wallow in my pity. I could hear him flooing someone from the living room, but I didn't really pay much attention till I heard another knock on the door.

"Rose? You in there?"

"Millie?" I said, lifting my head slightly.

I heard Al get the door, and ushered my best friend into the room.

"Rose? What happened? Al said you got fired." Milie said, sitting down next to me.

Millie and I have been best friends for nearly ten years, ever since the train ride at the start of first year.

"Come on." Millie said when I didn't reply, taking my hand and pulling me up. I barely had time to grunt before she side-along Apparated me away.

"No, I swear it was Dom! I distinctly remember getting treacle tart all over me, so it _can't_ have been me who tipped the table over." I said to Millie, sitting down next to her on my couch.

"Nah, I swear it was you. I can picture you walking straight up to that table, tripping over, and then, somehow, almost every Gryffindor was covered in food." Millie said, smirking at me.

I narrowed my eyes, about to retort, but she flicked her wand at my MagiScreen, diverting my attention.

"Ugh, it's another competition update. Turn it off." I said, getting up to get myself a butterbeer from my very nearly empty fridge.

"Oh, come on, Rose. You have to admit it'll be funny watching those idiots running around on an island." Millie called to me.

I paused in the doorway, glaring at my friend.

"I think it's completely and utterly stupid, personally." I said in a huff, sitting down next to her, sipping my drink.

We both turned our attention to the screen, Millie still smirking, and a frown still evident on my face.

"The moment is upon us, folks! Any minute now, the contestants will be announced! Now, there will be 20 in total, 10 females and 10 males, from age 20 to 25.

The age limit has been largely debated in the last few weeks, with many 17, 18 and 19 year olds feeling they should be allowed to compete. It was just today that the Blishwick family chimed in, saying that the decision on the age limit was theirs, in conjuction with MagiScreen, and they felt it was suitable.

I guess that's the final say on that issue.

Oh, look, it's time!" The presenter shouted, and in living rooms across Britain, everyone focused on the screen, where names began flashing.

"Alicia Pristal!"

"Matt Boot!"

"Mia Treck!"

The names flashed in red across the bottom of the screen, before lining up higher up, so viewers had a list of the competition.

The successful applicants were appearing, one by one, on stage, all clutching something that looked like a piece of parchment. The first, a short brown haired girl by the name of Alicia Pristal, looked bewildered, whilst Mia Treck was waving and smiling to the audience.

"Callie Trescott!"

A girl with blonde curls appeared on stage, gaping at the crowd.

Another few minutes passed, and eleven contestants stood on stage, some looking in their element, others like Trescott and Pristal clearly uncomfortable.

"Rob Micheals!"

"Rose Weasley!"

My eyes widened, my mouth opening and closing like a fish whilst I stared at the screen in shock.

Beside me, Millie gasped.

"WHAT?" She exclaimed, turning to look at me.

I stared back at her, shock on both our faces. It wasn't until I heard the sounds of my family apparating in that I began to regain the ability to function.


	2. Day One: Part 2, Introductions

"Rose?"

"You entered? Why didn't you tell us?"

"What the hell, Rose?"

"Rose!"

I groaned inwardly as my family all apparated into my apartment, crowding into my living room, none of us paying any attention to the Magiscreen anymore.

Within a minute of my name being called, every single one of my Aunts and Uncles, from my father's side, had appeared, as well as my Grandma Molly and Grandpa Weasley, my parents, my brother Hugo, and every single Weasley/Potter cousin (including Victoire and Teddy, who were techinically Lupins, not Weasleys, along with their 3 year old son, Mattie).

"I did not enter myself!" I screamed over everyone, effectively shutting them all up, all staring wide-eyed at me.

"They," I said, pointing to Al, James (his older brother), my cousin Fred and Hugo, "did." I said, glaring at the offending party.

There was a split second of silence, before the noise started up again. Most of the females were yelling at the 'offending party' for entering me, the males not in said party were busy discussing the competition and the offenders themselves were busy trying to defend their actions.

"But, Mum, we we're only doing it to cheer Rose up! She got fired _and_ dumped today-" Al said, but I quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, glaring at him.

The last thing I needed was for my entire family to crowd around me wanting details about the other events of today.

"Auntie Rose?"

I looked down, and saw Mattie pulling on my jeans, trying to get my attention. When he saw me looking at him, he pointed to the window.

"Owl." He said quietly, before wandering back to his parents.

I looked, and sure enough, an owl carrying an envelope stamped with the Magiscreen logo was hovering at my window.

_Dear Miss Weasley, _

_Congratulations on being accepted to participate in the inaugral Blishwick Competition. You will be transported to the welcoming venue shortly, where you will be briefed on the competition. No luggage is necessary, except for your wand, as all other items will be provided. _

_Best of luck for the competition, _

_Serena Chilst, _

_Manager, MagiScreen Inc._

I'd barely read through the letter before I felt the familiar hooking sensation around my navel, and groaned inwardly. As was pulled into oblivion, the last thing I heard was the gasps of my family as they finally stopped harrassing the 'offending party' and hurriedly wished me good luck as I disappeared, clutching the letter, now glowing blue, in my hands.

I stumbled slightly as I appeared on the stage that I'd been staring at on screen only minutes before.

"The letter was a Portkey, by the way." The girl next to me said helpfully.

"I'm Callie." The girl said, her blonde girls bouncing around her head as she held her hand out.

I shook it, still taking in my surroundings.

"Rose." I replied.

There were about 15 of us on the stage, out of the 20 to be called. Mia, the girl I'd noticed earlier, was posing for photos, waving to the audience, along with another girl with long dark hair, who looked to be in her mid 20s.

Alicia, the first girl to arrive, was on Callie's other side, watching Mia and her companion in disgust.

The guys were all in a clump on the other side of the stage, a couple clearly checking out Mia. Among them I could spot Boot and Micheals, who was called just before me. I recognized a few of the others from Hogwarts, but I couldn't recall any names.

"Liam Hemody!"

The name rang out across the stage, and all us contestants looked up, waiting for the new arrival. Within the next few minutes, 'Liam Hemody', a short, brown haired man that I thought might have been a Ravenclaw in my year, 'Willa Tonington' a red headed girl who joined Mia waving at the audience, 'Eddie McGough', a guy with glasses and short hair and 'Shanae Smith', a brown haired female who looked to be roughly 25 had arrived, all clutching their letter/Portkeys.

With only one contestant left to be announced, the atmosphere in the auditorium was buzzing. Doing a quick head count, I discovered that all ten females had arrived, so the last contestant must be male.

The announcer was dragging it out deliberately, grinning at the audience whilst slowly announcing the name.

"The last contestant for the very first Blishwick Competition is a very talented young man, who I'm sure will entertain you all. The last contestant is..." The announcer trailed off, enjoying the suspenseful silence that now filled the venue.

"Scorpius Malfoy!"

The crowd screamed, the announcer grinned, stepping back from his podium, Mia and her companions resumed their waving, and I gasped for what felt like the millionth time that day, and went very, very pale.

You see, I happen to know Mr Malfoy. We were at school together, and were in constant competition from the moment we stepped onto the Hogwarts Express.

We were the complete opposite in many ways; he was blonde, I was a red-head, he was calculating and thought everything through, I acted rashly and had a temper, he was a Slytherin, I was a Gryffindor, he was good at Transfiguration and Potions whilstI was good at Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts.

However, we also had many similarites. We were both insanely competitive, achieving the equal top spot in our graduating class, both played Chaser for our house teams, we were both Prefects, and in our final year, I was Head Girl, and he was Head Boy.

The thing is, I've kind of missed our competition. In my schools years I'd been focused, always trying to beat Malfoy. In school it had given me something to aim for.

I guess it would do that now, too. Beating him was always something I enjoyed.

As Malfoy appeared on stage, his blonde hair gleaming in the light and his trademark smirk on his face, I couldn't help but cross my arms, replacing my shocked look with a similar smirk. What can I say? I'm a sucker for good competition, and this one's finally become interesting.

"Malfoy." I said, inclining my head to him as he stood a few feet away from me.

"Weasley." He replied.

We glared at each other for a moment, an unspoken agreement that this had now become a personal challenge for each of us to beat the other.

With a final smirk, he turned away from me, heading to the clump of guys, and I turned back to Callie and Alicia, who had walked over to join us.

Within an hour, the auditorium had cleared, and all of us contestants were now seated where, previously, the audience had been. The presenter, Max Caufield, was standing on the stage along with Madame Blishwick, the competition's sponsor, and Serena Chilst, MagiScreen's Manager.

It was time for the briefing.

"All right, contestants! This is just a brief detailing of the rules of the competition, which will begin tomorrow. The competition, which I'm sure you all know, runs for the entirety of this month, or, for 31 days, with this being Day No. 1. On Day 4, the first elimination will take place, and after that, only 19 of you will remain. This will continue till Day 31, where the last 2 of you will be brought back here, for the Grand Final." Max Caulfield grinned at us, and I saw a gleam of hope in many of the competitor's eyes.

"Some quick do's and don't's. Do not, under any circumstance, use Dark Magic in this competition. Anyone who does so will be disqualified and sent to the Ministry for questioning."

"Secondly, you are welcome to form alliances and such like. However, only one single person will win, not a team. Remember that."

"Thirdly, when a challenge requires you to work as a team or in pairs, you must do so. Failure to do so will hurt your chances of remaining in the game. And finally, don't go wandering into any of the forbidden areas on the island. These areas are clearly marked, and they are marked so for a reason. So, unless you want to be removed from the island in pieces, I would stay within the markers." Max grinned again, though this time many competitors looked pale, a few had a green, sickly pallor at the mention of the 'forbidden' areas.

"Now, before you all get shipped off to the island, how about we all introduce ourselves?" Max called, and began pointing at contestants, who then introduced themselves.

"Rob Micheals." One of the boys said, who had dark hair and tanned skin.

"Fiona Strall, but call me Fi." The tall, dark haired girl, sitting next to Mia, said.

"Mia Treck." Mia said, grinning widely and blinking her eyelashes it what was clearly intended to be an endearing look.

I heard Callie next to me retch a little, which caused me to giggle a little. Callie and I shared a look of mutual disgust, before turning our attention back to our fellow competitors.

"Felicity Warren." The girl next to Mia stated, her fringe hanging in her eyes.

"Willa Tonington!" The red head next to her said, leaning forward in her seat, grinning widely, before leaning back, winking at the boys in the row in front of her.

"Nicholas Plat. Just Nick, though." A boy with dirty blonde hair, part of the huddle of guys, said.

"Will Phiscoor." The boy next to him stated.

"Matt Boot". His neighbour said, winking to Willa Tonington as he did so.

The rest of the group of guys followed, which included Malfoy, 'Thomas 'Tom' Meetling' and 'Joey Dackaby'.

"Hey everyone. I'm Abelia Kapoor." The dark-skinned girl on the other side of Alicia, who was on my right, said. I vaguely recognized her as a Chaser from Gryffindor, a few years older than me.

"Alicia Pristall." Alicia said quietly, clearly not liking the spotlight.

I introduced myself, glaring at Malfoy as I did so, followed by Callie, whose full name turned out to be Calliesta Trescott. I can sort of see why she prefers Callie.

"Liam Hemody." The short guy said, looking nervous.

"Eddie McGough." The guy next to him said, smiling warmly, his eyes shining pleasantly behind his glasses.

'Taylor Roberts' came next, a girl with long, reddish brown hair who spoke in an airy voice.

"I'm Shanae Smith". The woman at the end of my row smiled to us all.

Finally there came 'Benjamin Bole', was I was certain was a Slytherin in the year above me.

"Alright, you all know each other!" The presenter said from the stage, grinning down at us.

"Follow me to your transport, competitiors! It's time to meet your playing ground!"


	3. Day Two: Forming Acquaintances

"So, who wants to bet that Weaslette over there won't last three days?" Malfoy said, sneering at me from the midst of his crowd of cronies.

Scorpius Malfoy was always popular in school, he was quick to gain friends, even quicker to gain girlfriends. In the past 24 hours since we'd been shipped onto the island, Malfoy had allied himself with Nick Plat, Ben Bole, who knew Malfoy from school, as they'd been in Slytherin together, Matt Boot, who shared Malfoy's womanizing ways and Tom Meetling. Plat, Bole and Malfoy were all Slytherins, though in different years, so they had something in common, I guess, if you could call a cunning, evil streak something.

Matt Boot, on the other hand, I remembered from my school days as someone who relentlessly stole my cousin Fred's girlfriends.

Whilst Malfoy had quite a few allies, I only had one, perhaps two. Callie, Alicia and I had stayed up for several hours last night, talking about all sorts of things. Today had mainly focused on learning the ropes of the island and the competition, but we did have some 'bonding' time as well, so I now felt that, for the beginning of the competition at least, I had some friends to turn to. Things would get a bit tricky when people started to get eliminated, but I guess I'd deal with that when it came.

I'd already developed a firm enemy in Mia Treck, who'd spent most of the last day hanging off Malfoy. Mia was constantly surrounded by Fiona Strall, Felicity Warren, the type of girl who had to have someone to follow, and Willa Tonington, who was my private bet as the first person to be eliminate, purely based on her intelligence, of lack therof.

Liam Hemody, Eddie McGough, Will Phiscoor, Joey Dackaby and Rob Micheals had formed a tentative alliance, solely because they all hated the Slytherin crew gathered around Malfoy.

We may be out of Hogwarts, but house rivalry was something that always remained, as my father quite often proved.

However, these new friendships, I guess you could call them, would not last. As soon as someone was eliminated, we would all stiffen up and treat this like a competition, with real, cold hard cash as a prize.

"I think she'll wuss out and leave before tomorrow night!" Mia said, giggling into Malfoy's ear in a way that made me want to gag.

"Or, maybe she'll make it down to the final few, but her Gryffindor chivalry will give in, and she'll happily step aside for someone else, say, I don't know, me, to take the prize." Malfoy continued, his infamous smirk appearing on his face.

"Or, I could actually think about this as an actual competition, rather than an opportunity to shag new girls, and take the prize all for myself, leaving you in the dust." I spoke up, my heated gaze directed to Malfoy.

The Slytherins cackled at this, and I could feel the familiar air of a Gryffindor-Slytherin showdown building.

"Aw, come on Weasley, let's get some entertainment in for the viewers." Fiona Strall said from beside Mia.

Fiona was slightly less vervacious than her friend, but much more of a threat. She was a Curse-Breaker, as the exercises in 'getting to know each other' today had proved, incredibly athletic and had a thorough knowledge of curses and hexes, from her education at Durmstrang.

"Cool it, guys. We don't need to fight yet." Shanae Smith said, stepping out of the cabin behind Malfoy and his cronies.

Shanae was the mother of the competition, she was the oldest, the wisest, as a magic historian, and had a motherly, caring air about her. She tended to hang around with Liam, Eddie and their friends, but she'd spent lunch with us.

"How're you going to stop us?" Fiona said, looking up at Shanae.

Shanae sighed, before drawing her wand so fast that even Malfoy, a former Auror-in-training, flinched.

"Strall, shut up. I don't want to have to mediate every single hour of every day, but I will if I have to. You heard what Caulfield said, no fighting outside of the tasks. You don't really want to be thrown out of here, do you?" She said, her wand directed at the other girl's chest.

Fiona scowled, before stalking off to her cabin, shortly followed Felicity.

Slowly, my fellow competitors trickled off to bed, but I remained, staring at the fire in the middle of our circle of cabins. They'd originally given us tents, but we'd all quickly figured out how to transfigure them into something a bit more glamorous. Callie and I shared a cabin, which had quickly become a fusion of Callie's bright, colourful style, and my own, slightly subtler, vintage one.

I looked up from the fire, spots appearing in front of my eyes, surprised to see that only Malfoy and I remained.

"Well, Malfoy, as much as I _hate_ to leave your slimy presence, I'm off to bed." I said sarcastically, stretching as I got up from my position.

"Oh, such a shame, Weaslette. I was hoping we could reminisce about old times! You know, when I always used to beat you? Shame about you Potions grade, really." He retorted, standing up as well.

I raised my eyebrows at him, cocking my head slightly.

"You beating me? I seem to recall that it was Gryffindor, not Slytherin, who one the House _and_ Quidditch Cups in 7th year..." I stuck a tongue out at him for good measure, before stalking off.

"Good to be back in a competition, isn't it?" He called after me, as my foot rested on my doorstep.

"With you and me here, Malfoy, I think it'll turn out more like an explosion than a competition." I said truthfully, my face turned away from him.

"Good entertainment, though." He said quietly, so much so that I almost didn't catch it.

I heard him leave for his own cabin, as I slowly entered mine.

Malfoy and I weren't exactly enemies, but we definitely weren't friends either. We both acknowledged that fact that we were incredibly competitive, and that competiting against each other brought out our best. Of course, it also brought out his snarky, rude side and my bitchy one, but that was beside the point.

I had sorely missed the constant competition between us. I could only guess at what we'd resort to over the next few weeks to win.

"Hey, Rose." Callie said sleepily from her bed.

"Hey." I said back, slipping into my pajamas.

"You ready for tomorrow?" She asked, wriggling around in her bed.

I snorted.

"It's only the first day. No one even gets eliminated till the third. Piece of cake."

With that, I slid into my own bed, intending on getting a good night's sleep.

I groaned, finally fed up of trying to sleep, sitting up in my bed.

Turns out that Callie snored. Loudly.

Sleeping was entirely impossible under these conditions.

In an attempt to tire myself out, I got up, wrapping a jacket around myself and headed out for a walk.

"Willa, you idiot, shut up!" Someone hissed, followed by a dull thud.

"Oh, I'm sorry for not being able to see my feet!" Willa hissed back at who I thought was Mia.

"Bloody hell, which way is our cabin?" Fiona Strall added, and I could slowly make out the shadowy forms of four girls, Mia, Willa, Fiona and Felicity sneaking past the fire pit.

"What is it with these cabins, anyway? I thought we'd be staying in a _hotel_, or something all nice, I mean, this is a _competition_, on an island, not a survival course." Mia whined to no one in particular.

None of them had noticed me, frozen on my doorstep.

I was completely perplexed as to why they were sneaking around at 2 in the morning. Squinting, I could make out the shape of bottles in Fiona's hands, and, sniffing the air, I soon realised what they'd been doing.

Max Caulfield and MagiScreen's managers had been quick to place a ban on dark magic, but they were rather lax when it came to less magical ills. Alcohol _was_ prohibited, but instead of being kicked out of the competition, anyone who consumed alcohol and was caught would have to suffer the consequences, namely, no hangover charms.

It was like being back in Hogwarts all over again.

I had half a mind to report them, but I had no idea how to do that, so I simply watched them struggle to re-enter their two, side by side, cabins.

"Maybe I'll go surprise Scorpius." Mia giggled, her blonde hair swinging behind her as her roomate Fiona struggled with the door.

I scowled slightly at the mention of Malfoy, my stomach twisting as Mia swung her hips, turning slightly as if to head off to Malfoy's cabin.

"No, I will!" Willa said, attempting to take off at a run to Malfoy's cabin, but instead falling, rather spectaularly, on her arse.

I struggled not to laugh at her face, her mouth hanging wide open. Mia, unlike me, couldn't restrain herself, and burst out laughing.

"Shush!" Felicity said, speaking for the first time, sounding rather scared.

"You'll wake them up." She continued on, looking from Willa to Mia.

"Oh, shut it. They're all sound asleep, it's two in the bloody morning!" Mia exclaimed.

"Besides, what are they going to do?" Fiona added, finally succeeding in opening her door.

The four piled into their respective rooms fairly quickly, leaving me surrounded in silence.

I sat on one of the logs placed around the fire, staring at the spot where, a few hours ago, a fire had burned. I hadn't been lying when I'd told Callie that I wasn't worried about the next few days.

It was the days after that that concerned me. I hadn't wanted to be part of this competition, but now I was here I couldn't think of anything worse than being eliminated.

Especially with Malfoy present, I knew I had to try and win.

And, if the stupidity of the four, now drunk, girls had been any indication, it wouldn't be too hard to outwit most of my opponents. It would only get tricky when it came to my new found acquaintances.

I knew that Callie really needed the money, to pay for Healer training. I, however, could easily survive from mooching of my parents for the rest of my life. If it came down to me and her, would I feel guilty if I won?

I sat there for about an hour, contemplating the rather depressing nature of competitions, before sleep finally came and I staggered off to bed for a few hours sleep before the competition really began.


	4. Day Three: Hunting

"Competitors! It is time for the first round of the competition to begin! Please report to the meeting area, where the challenge of today will be explained to you!"

The loud, magically broadcasted voice of Max Caulfield rang through my cabin, jolting both me and Callie awake. Callie groaned, pulling her covers over her head.

"Rose!" She whined. "Make it stop!"

I sniggered slightly, staggering out of my own bed and into the shower.

Within ten minutes, all 20 of us were in a ragged circle around the fire pit. Shanae clutched a cup of coffee that I kept eyeing enviously, Mia was half-asleep on Malfoy's shoulder, Willa actually _was_ asleep, leaning against one of the cabins.

"Good morning!" Max cheerfully called as he appeared in the centre of the circle, clutching a Portkey.

"Today is a very exciting day!" Max said, smiling widely and clearly trying to enthuse us.

"As the first day of actual competition, you will all recieve points based on how well you do in today's task. On day three, the 5 of you with the least about of points will face elimination. At that point, our lovely viewers will decided which four stays, and which one goes!" Max exclaimed, rubbing his hands together gleefully.

Malfoy and his cronies looked positively bored. Mia had woken up to some decree, apparently realizing that most of wizarding Britain was probably watching, and was hastily fixing her already perfect hair and makeup, before smiling brightly around.

"Today's task is a simple one," Max started, pausing for dramatic effect "a scavenger hunt!"

He paused again, clearly expecting a reaction of some kind, only succeeding in a few grunts and a giggle from Mia.

"Collect as many red flags as you can, they are placed all over this island! Of course, there will be obstacles in your way, which you, armed with your wand, will have to tackle. One flag will earn you one point." Max said, now walking around the circle, looking each of us in the eye.

"If you decide to work in pairs or groups, remember that only the person who holds the flag at the end of the competition will recieve a point for it." Max said, and I saw a few worried glances between Boot, Bole, Meetling, Plat and Malfoy.

"Lastly, do not, under any circumstances, pass into any area that is marked off as a 'dangerous' area. We went through those markers yesterday, I trust you all remember them." Max said, and I saw Felicity pale.

"Alright competitiors, you have until twelve hours exactly, ending at 7 tonight. Your time starts now!" Max shouted, throwing his arms up in the air, making us all jump.

Malfoy and his group immediately sprinted off, as did all of the other boys. Shanae slipped between two cabins, heading off as well.

Callie, Alicia and I headed in the opposite direction of Malfoy's group, towards the beach.

As we all headed off, we heard Max's departing shout of 'good luck!'. I turned my head, looking back at the fire pit as we ran off towards the beach, and almost laughed when I saw Willa stare around her, realise everyone had gone, and then pelt after the retreating figures of Mia, Fiona and Felicity.

The crunch of leaves under my feet was monotonous. The distant sound of waves crashing on the beaches was equally frustrating. The chirping of birds was just plain annoying.

The worst of all the noises, however, was the sound of an approaching opponent. I had split off from Callie and Alicia once we'd combed the beach, the three of us reaching an unspoken agreement that the only way we could be successfuly was apart.

Most of the groups had split up too, though I was fairly sure Mia and Fiona, perhaps Felicity, were all still wandering around together. I'd heard a rather loud burst of giggling about an hour earlier, sounding suspiciously like Mia.

I'd spent the last three hours well, collecting quite a few flags, several of them that I had to work to obtain. So far, I'd encountered a family of bowtruckles, a Hinkypunk, a weird gold mist in a clearing, and a footprint that looked suspiciously like a Hippogriph.

No major dramas, however. It was now just after ten and the sun was starting to rise.

I bet most of us would rather be suntanning on the beach right now, but hey, you can't have everything!

The hours slowly dwindled by, and I managed to avoid running in to anyone by heading in the opposite direction anytime I heard a human-sounding noise.

Not the most entertaining day, but I absolutely had to beat Scorpius. I couldn't bear it if I got ended up with less flags than him, he'd never let me live it down.

It wasn't until around two in the afternoon that I really started to feel hungry, so I headed back to camp. There was nothing preventing us from stopping off there to grab food and other neccessities, it was just a massive waste of time.

By that point, I had a total of 46 flags, and I was feeling pretty good.

The only problem was I had absolutely no idea how many flags were spread across this goddamn island.

Wonderful.

As I approached the circle of cabins, the sound of voices grew louder. It was then that it occured to me that all of this was being fed back to screens all across Britain.

Well, I must be an extremely boring contestant for them to watch, only walking around by myself all day. Shame, really.

"Scorp!" Some exclaimed loudly, startling me.

Someone giggled, shortly followed by a loud clang.

"C'mon Mia, we better go flag-hunting again." Felicity said rather timidly, clearly anxious about having not enough flags.

"Oh, relax." I heard Mia reply, sounding irritated.

"I have a plan that'll make sure we win this thing." She said as I came to the edge of the clearing, peering in at the two girls, Mia next to Malfoy, who was alone, or at least appeared to be.

"How are you going to do that?" Malfoy asked, curiousity evident on his pale face.

"Steal other people's flags." Mia replied flatly, and I gasped.

"That's against the rules!" Felicity said, reiterating my exact thoughts.

Mia turned to her, crossing her arms across her chest.

"No it's not, Max Caulfield said who ever has the most flags _at the end_ wins. As long as I don't use dark magic, it's cool."

With that, Mia turned on her heel and stalked off towards the beach, Felicity following like an adoring puppy.

Malfoy just remained standing there, pulling a bag of flags out of his pocket, magically enlarging it, and sitting down to count them.

The need to feed was overwhelming at this point, so I gave up my hiding place and headed over, startling Malfoy.

"Weasley." He said, sneering at me.

"Malicious." I replied, smiling sweetly.

He glared at me, before he resumed counting.

"Oh, Malfoy, look, it seems you're missing some flags! Oh, wait, is that _actually_ all you've found? Oh dear." I shook my head in mock sympathy, stalking off to my cabin in search of food.

"Is that all you've got, Weasel? Gee, it's going to be so much fun watching your face when I beat you tonight, just like that time in-"

I whirled around, cutting him off as my red hair flew around my face.

"I'll have you know, Malfoy, that I currently have _46 _flags. Beat that." I said childishly, even going so far as to stick my tongue out at him.

He stared up at me, and it was then that I realised.

Shit. He knew how many flags I had. That gave him a massive advantage, cause if he was ahead he would feel safe, and if he was behind...he knew how much he needed to catch up by.

Someone, the smug look on his face told me he wasn't behind.

Great.

Inwardly cursing, I stomped off to my cabin, resolving to become better at strategy before tomorrow.

Stupid sodding Scorpius Malfoy.

"_Diffindo."_

I flicked my head around at the sound of the whisper, shortly followed by a ripping sound, a thud, and a gasp.

It was completely by chance that I witnessed Mia take all but 5 of Joey Dackaby's flags. She levitated them out of his bag once it split, and snuck off before Joey even realised.

I was furious.

Yes, techincally it wasn't against the rules, but it _was_ playing dirty. There was no way I'd let Mia win by _stealing._

"Hey, Joey." I said, stepping up to the slightly pudgy, red-faced boy.

"Oh, Rose. Hi." Joey said, frantically stuffing his items inside his bag.

"Mia just stole your flags." I said flatly, not even trying to sugarcoat it.

He gaped up at me for a moment, before frantically checking his bag.

Left with no alternative, he looked back at me, a mixture of fury, sadness, hopelessness and rage in his face.

"That bitch." He said, making me smile weakly.

"I don't think you were the first one she targeted, if that helps." I said.

"Oh, but I'd suggest putting some charms on the bag so it can't happen again, in the next," I quickly checked my watch, "four hours."

I walked away quickly, spotting a flag in a tree nearby and levitating it down. I placed the flag in the secure place, the moleskin bag around my neck, magically expanded to fit the flags.

I'd been quick to transfigure the first rock I found into the bag, but clearly most of the contestants hadn't been so quickwitted, and had fallen prey to Mia Treck.

Over the next hour or so, I told eight different contestants about Mia, leaving them with newly protected bags. I also found several flags, but I knew I had no hope of beating Malfoy, if he was already ahead of me.

Somehow, the injustice of what Mia as doing lessened my competitive side, and the desire to beat Malfoy. I knew I'd cop it later from him, but I pushed that aside, seeing no point in worrying about it till it arrived.

"Hey Scorpius."I heard Mia drawl, somewhere to my left, behind a few trees.

I'd just rounded a lake, scoring 6 flags out of it as I went. It was nearing six, the shadows of the trees stretching across the ground, the sky darkening.

"Mia." Malfoy replied, clearly not wanting Mia around.

Probably too elated with the fact that he was going to beat me.

"How've you been?" Mia said, and I peeked around a tree, seeing her trailing a hand across his chest as she prowled in a circle around the blonde-haired git.

The mere sight of them made my stomach turn, and I grimaced.

I couldn't help myself, I followed Mia's hand with my gaze, and only when it dropped to the bag on Malfoy's hip did I realised her goal.

She was going to steal Malfoy's flags.

I was torn. Part of me couldn't wait to see Malfoy fail, even if it was to Mia. Yet another part of me, the loyal, chivalrous Gryffindor, couldn't bear to see Mia destroy another person's chances.

It was that part of me that waved my wand, wordlessly imobilising both Mia and Malfoy. I quickly reached Mia's bag, pulling it open with my hands as the spells she'd put on it prevented me from doing anything else.

She really was quite smart, despite being a total bitch.

I grabbed all but around 40 of the flags, levititating them in the air as soon as I dropped Mia's bag.

The front beach, the one nearest the cabins, was visible from our spot halfway up a hill on the island, and soon, all the stolen flags lay near the spot where we would all return in an hour or so. It was my bet that many contestants, already disheartened by Mia's theft, would be there.

I hoped they would all have a fair shot, now. Or at least, fairer than they would have with Mia's involvement.

I smirked down at Mia, allowing myself a moment to gloat.

"What you did was wrong. You're a lying, scheming bitch, and I'll make sure you get _nowhere_ in this competition." I said, unfreezing Malfoy as I did so.

He looked at me briefly, then down at Mia, before scampering down towards the cabins.

I was almost out of sight before I released Mia, but I heard her yell after me as clear as if she'd been right next to me.

"Weasley, you bitch! You'll pay for that! There's no way you're going to win this thing, you don't have it in you! You need to be _ruthless_, Weasley! You won't survive!"

Her words rang in my ears all the way back to the camp. It was true, what she'd said. When it got down to the last few people, I would have to be selfish, ruthless, put myself before everyone else.

There was one factor, though, that Mia didn't know about. My competitive history with Malfoy was a large part of the reason that I was even trying in this competition, and I had faith that when it came to crunch time, I'd do anything to beat him.

Well, almost anything, anyway.

"Congratulations, all of you! The first task is now over!

Now, the official tally..."

Max Caulfield was standing before us once again, but this time everyone was paying rapt attention. He went through the results, starting with the lowest, which turned out to be Willa.

Willa struck me as someone with beauty, not brains. I'd bet my wand that Mia'd stolen her flags at the first opportunity, no matter if they were friends or not.

Callie and Alicia both did well, clear of the dangerous bottom 5. As long as they did well on the next two days, they would be clear of elimination.

Max Caulfield read through the names, and I was increasingly surprised that I hadn't been called. It got down to 8, then 7, then 6, and I was still in suspense.

Mia was called as number 5, somehow she'd managed to get a decent number of flags in the last hour and had redeemed herself slightly. Besides, I'd left her with a fair amount anyway, I wasn't about to ruin her chances completely, stoop to her level.

I was a Gryffindor, after all. Not a slimy, Scorpius Malfoy-like Slytherin.

"Number 3, Fiona Strall, with 112 flags!" Max Caulfield called out, and Fiona smiled brightly, clearly playing it up for the viewers back home.

"Number 2, Rose Weasley, with 119 flags!"

I jumped at the sound of my name, my face instantly reddening.

Damn those Weasley genes.

Callie and Alicia congratulated me, but most people were gathered around Malfoy, today's winner.

"And first, the winner of the first task, Scorpius Malfoy, with 120 flags!" Max Caufield called, flourishing his hands, and I blanced.

He'd only won by one? I'd thought he was far ahead!

My eyes widened, turning to Malfoy unconciously for an explanation.

He saw me looking, and smirked.

"Hey, Weasley, thanks for telling me how many flags you had, by the way. Otherwise I'd needn't have bothered to collect that extra one." He said, his eyes sparkling in the firelight.

Mia was off to the side, surrounded by Fiona, Felicity and Willa, desperately trying to get Malfoy's attention, but failing. It seemed he was giving her the cold shoulder after she went all Mundungus Fletcher on him.

For once, I actually felt slightly sorry for Malfoy, having to endure Mia's infatutation.

That disappeared almost instantly, I swear.

"Hey, Weasel brat," Malfoy called, still surrounded by admirers, though slightly less than before as people trickled off to eat.

"Let's see how much I can win by tomorrow." He called, before turning around and stalking off towards some food.

I stared after him, my eyes narrowing.

Oh, yes, Malfoy, we will see. We'll see just how competitive Rose Weasley can be when she sets her mind to it. We'll see just what she's capable of, and just how far you, Malfoy the Stuck-Up Brat, can fall.


	5. Day Four: Part 1, Riddles

"Good morning, competitors!" It is time for Day 2 of the competition to begin!"

Max Caulfield's voice rang out through the cabin for the second day in a row, and Callie, exactly like yesterday, groaned in frustration, quickly throwing her pillow over her head to block out the noise.

I was already up and dressed, a cup of coffee in my hands, having figured out the wake up time from yesterday. I didn't hate mornings, like Callie did, but I wasn't exactly a morning person either, I still needed a coffee boost to get me going.

I sat down on a log outside, watching the other slowly trickle in. Mia glared at me as she came to take her spot next to Malfoy, who sidled away from her, not breaking out of his conversation with Matt. Mia scowled at Malfoy's back, before turning and interrupting whatever Fiona was saying to Felicity, wanting an opinion on her hair.

Geez, she was _so_ self absorbed. I'd met enough girls like Mia in my Hogwarts days to know to keep my distance. Selfish, stuck up, vain, possessive bitches were never fun to be around.

"Competitors! This is the second day of the competition, and therefor your second challenge!" Max Caulfied said, appearing among us once again, clutching a bright green hairbrush.

Either he was an eccentric one, on that was the Portkey. I was sorta hoping for the former, sad as that may be.

"This second challenge is different from the first in one, big way. You will be working in groups of four, instead of induvidually."

At this announcement, I saw many of my peers glancing around warily. Fair enough, too. My own gut reaction to a group challenge was dread, left over from my school days and being paired with, ah, less than lovely people.

Like, say, Malfoy for my fifth year Potions assignment.

Which _may_ have ended with purple goo on the ceiling.

Just maybe.

"The points system is slightly different, as well. The winning group will score 5 points, the rest then following with 4, 3, 2 and 1 point.

The challenge itself is a fairly simple one. Each group will be given one of these," He said, holding up a plain, black backpack. "which contains several things, including instructions. These instructions will tell you what object inside your bag you must guard. That object _must_ remain intact and in your team's hands at the end of the day. If not, well, say goodbye to those 5 points." He said, smiling wryly.

A few people chuckled, but the majority seemed to be trying to sort themselves into groups, in the hope that they were assigned. From the list in Max's hand, I had a feeling they would have their hopes crushed.

"Anything else in the backpack may be used however you see fit. Now, for the teams..." Max said, unfolding the list, whilst we all collectively held our breath.

"Team one, Matt Boot, Eddie McGough, Abelia Kapoor, Fiona Strall."

The four Team One members all trudged over to Fiona's log perch, none of them looking thrilled, but at the same time none trying to rip out other's throats.

Unlike, say, what would happen if Malfoy and I were put together.

Or Mia and I, for that matter.

Oh Merlin, I hope that doesn't happen.

I paniced, crossing my fingers behind my back just in case. You never know what'll help, you know?

"Team two, Alicia Pristall, Benjamin Bole, Nicholas Plat, Shanae Smith."

As Max read out team two, my anticipation was heightened. Every name that was read off increased the possibility that I'd be placed with one of my two worst nightmares...

"Team three, Thomas Meetling, Scorpius Malfoy, Willa Tonington, Callie Trescott."

I looked towards my friend, grimacing.

"Good luck." I said quietly, as she went to stand with her team.

She pulled a face at me, before walking off.

As much as I felt sorry for her for being placed with Malfoy, I was glad it wasn't me.

Only Mia to worry about now. I, once again, crossed my fingers.

"Team four, Liam Hemody, Rob Micheals, Taylor Roberts, Rose Weasley."

I breathed out heavily, a smile breaking out on my face momentarily, until I quickly resumed a 'bored, yet excited for the coming task' look.

The two guys in my team, Liam and Rob, were both okay, from what I could tell. They weren't in Malfoy's group of cronies, at least. Taylor, on the other hand, had kept to herself and had earned a reputation as being wierd after the first day.

Oh well, it could've been worse, I guess.

"Team five, Will Phiscoor, Joey Dackaby, Mia Treck, Felicity Warren."

With all teams now ready to go, Max smiled at us all.

"Good luck, teams. Please report back here at sharp for the end of the challenge. Your backpacks, each printed with each teams number, are out there for you to find. You may begin!"

Yelling the finals words, Max disappeared, leaving us all in a state of mass confusion.

Mia's team was running off towards the beach, Malfoy and Callie's were in a heated argument about where to start and Team One and Two were in a massive clump around the fire, for some reason.

"Where to, guys?" I asked, as the four of us huddled together to form a circle.

"I say we head north, see what we find. It'll mean we aren't near the others." Liam said, looking thoughtful.

We all nodded agreement, and off we set.

* * *

After a good ten minutes of walking north, we were stumped.

"Ugh. How the hell do they expect us to find one small backpack on this _massive_ island!" Liam said, frustrated with our, so far, fruitless search.

So was I, for that matter.

"I don't know!" Rob snapped in reply, equally frustrated.

Defeated, I plopped down on a fallen tree, figuring that if we had no idea where we were headed, we might as well stay still.

Besides, my legs ached.

"This is stupid." I said, playing with a rock at my feet.

"Agreed." Liam said, sitting down next to me.

"At least we can be pretty sure no one else will find the stupid packs." Rob put in, though that hardly helped.

"You never know, they could get lucky, or there could be something really obvious that we have to do, and we're just missing it..." I ranted, working myself up into a state.

Rob, Liam and I all sat in our dejected states for a few minutes, before Taylor finally spoke.

"Why don't we try summoning it?" She said, her wide eyes roving between the three of us.

I lifted my head out of my hands, staring up at her.

"Taylor Roberts, you are a genius." Liam said from next to me, grinning widely at the skinny brunette in front of us.

"_Accio._" I said confidently.

I had no doubt that this would work. I mean, what else could we try, really? I can't just magically figure out the location of our backpack, I'm not _Dumbledore_, for Merlin's sake.

Soon enough, a small black backpack came zooming towards us from somewhere higher up on the island.

"It would've taken forever to find that." Rob said, eyeing the backpack.

We all laughed at that, it was true. Thank God for Taylor and her Summoning Charm.

"Alright, let's see what all the trouble's about." I said, making to pull open the zipper.

"Wait." Liam said, putting a hand out in front of me.

"We should put anti-detection and anti-summoning charm on it, and probably some protection ones too, so the other teams can't get it." He said, and I gaped at him.

See, this was why people like Liam were Ravenclaws, they had all the brilliant ideas.

And us Gryffindors? We just acted without thinking, our so called 'bravery'. Yeah, _real _useful in this sort of situation.

"_Salvio Hexia."_ Liam muttered, waving his wand at the backpack.

Taylor joined in soon, adding her own protections while Rob and I looked on, feeling like fools.

Or at least, I felt like a fool.

"_Protego Totalum."_ Liam said, before stowing his wand back in his pocket.

"Done." He said, grinning at Rob and I.

"Can I open it now?" I asked, itching for something to do.

As much as I appreciated the Ravenclaw intelligence, I couldn't deny the Gryffindor in me that needed to be active, to do something. Hence, I had no time to marvel over their protective spells when a mystery in the form of a backpack was in front of me.

"Go for it." Liam said, holding out the backpack.

I grabbed it, pulling the zipper back and setting the backpack down on the ground so we could all crowd around and look at the contents.

"A compass." I said, pulling out the first object and lying it on the ground.

"What's the good in that when we have a wand?" Rob put in, and we all shrugged in response. This whole challenge seemed a bit odd, to be honest.

"A water bottle." I said, setting it down next to the compass.

"At least that's useful, we can refill it with _Aguamenti." _Liam said, picking up the bottle and filling it, just to prove his point.

"Four apples." I said, pulling out a paper bag that contained four, shiny, red apples.

"Awesome!" Rob exclaimed.

We all turned to look at him, our eyes wide.

"What?" He asked, looking between us all. "I'm hungry!"

We all laughed at that, whilst Rob looked disgruntled.

"We've only got four apples for the whole day, mind you." Liam said, and Rob glared at him.

"Shut up." He said, wrinkling up his nose at the concept of little food till dinner time.

Honestly, what is it with males and food? I was perfectly fine to go without anything besides an apple between breakfast and dinner, it wasn't healthy, but it wouldn't kill me.

"I'm guessing these are the instructions." Taylor said, fishing out a piece of parchment from the front pocket of the pack.

I reached into the back pocket, and grabbed the final item.

"What the hell?' I exclaimed, looking down at the bizarre object in my hands.

"It says here that _that_ is an exact replica of the 'Golden Eggs' used in the Triwizard Tournament of 1994. Apparently, we must drawn on our knowledge of 'great heroes of the past' to uncover clues which will help us with this task." She paraphrased, and we all gaped at her.

"What?" I said, my mouth hanging open.

To my left, Liam was staring at the egg, his mind (probably) whirring away at possibly meanings. Rob was looking just as dumbstruck as I was, so I grabbed the note from Taylor and the two of us read over it.

"_Congratulations, Team Four. You have retrieved your backpack, and the contained items. Four objects are contained in the back pocket, and three of them are free for you to use as you wish. The fourth, however, is the object you must protect. _

_This object is an exact replica of one of the 'Golden Eggs' used in the 1994 Triwizard Tournament held at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This egg is not merely an inanimate object, however. In order for your team to win this task, not only must this egg be in your possession at the end of the day, but you **must also** have figured out the answers to 3 clues, the first of which is contained within the egg you hold. _

_It is up to you to figure out how to access the clues. If your team is successful in solving all clues, be almost entirely certain that those 5 points will be yours. _

_Of course, should you choose to use your time to sabotage your fellow teams, that may also win you 5 points. _

_Members of Team Four, how you spend the day is up to you. Will it be in pursuit of knowledge, or in acts of deciet, cunning and bravery?"_

"Seems like we have a desicion to make." I said, placing the note on top of the back pack, looking around at my teammates.

"What do you think? Pursue knowledge, or decieve our peers?" I asked, and I saw Liam's face breakout into a grin.

"Rose, you have two Ravenclaw's here. We've already passed the first test, finding the backpack. You might be a Gryffindor and want to charge headlong into a stupid situation, but I say we stay here. I can't turn down a riddle, as much as you can't resist rising to Malfoy's bait." He said, and I glared at him.

"All agree?" Liam asked to Taylor and Rob, who both nodded.

"Alright then. Pursuit of knowledge it is."


	6. Day Four: Part 2, Broomsticks

**A/N: so...please don't hit me for not updating in ages! Please?**

**Would you be slightly kinder if I blamed Nargles for the disappearance of my writing ability for a month or so?**

**I'm totally blaming the Nargles. **

**Enough rambling, enjoy!**

"Gah! How are we supposed to open this damn egg?" I exclaimed, throwing said egg on the ground in frustration.

It'd been about half an hour since we decided to try and solve the clues, but so far, the hardest part was proving to be _finding_ the clues. The egg remained solid, closed and unhelpful.

Lovely.

"Too bad I never listened in History of Magic. I'm sure Binns mentioned this whole 'egg' business before." Rob sighed, and I couldn't help but agree.

"Hey, at least you're not related to one of the champions. I mean, Uncle Harry must've mentioned _something..._" I said, plonking myself down on a log and resting my chin in my hand.

"Well, we know the first task was where they got the egg." Liam said, clearly going into 'smart, stragetic Ravenclaw' mode.

"And the second task was in the lake, and that's what the clue in the egg told them about."

He started pacing, and I half expected him to shout 'Aha! I got it!" at any moment, but he didn't.

Unfortunately.

Merlin, they don't make this easy, do they?

I bet stupid, sodding _Malfoy_ will know what do to with the egg.

Either that or he's chosen the other route, sabotaging and what-not. Certainly his style.

Stupid bloody competition.

"Wait!" Taylor cried, appearing from behind a bush.

Yeah, don't ask. She said she needed to think, and dived behind a bush. Weird.

"I remember! The eggs told the champions that they had to rescue a loved one in the lake, right?" Taylor asked, looking at Liam and completely disregarding Rob and I.

Fair enough, I suppose. We were sort of useless in this situation, a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff, a fired Mediwizard and...I'm not sure what Rob does, but you get my drift.

Whilst Liam and Taylor were having some intense discussion involving the champions, golden eggs and mermaids and no doubt solving the mystery of the egg, I turned to Rob.

"So, Rob, what do you do for a living?" I asked conversationally.

"I'm an apprentice at Ollivanders." He said, and I stared at him in disbelief.

"Really? Wow. I don't think I know of anyone who's worked there, besides Ollivander of course." I said, and he laughed.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. Not that any of the stuff I've learnt comes in handy here." He replied, and I smiled wryly.

"I know how you feel." I said.

"Do you know any of the other competitors?" I asked, mainly to fill time whilst Taylor and Liam debated.

"Oh, well, Willa Tonington, you know her, she was in Hufflepuff with me, same year. I don't think we ever spoke though. I doubt she remembers me, she's not the sharpest quill in the draw."

I laughed slightly at that. Willa, one of the girls who hung around Mia, certainly wasn't smart in any way.

"My money's on her to be the first out, actually." He said, and I considered this.

I hadn't really thought much about who'd go, but the reality was, tomorrow night, one of us would be eliminated.

Scary thought.

"That's it!" Liam cried, and, grabbing the egg, he and Taylor ran full pelt out of the clearing.

Rob and I looked at each other, before pushing ourselves up and running after them.

I'm going to be really, really fit by the end of all this.

"Where the hell are we going?" I asked Rob, carefully maintaining the levitation charm I'd put on the backpack as we left the clearing.

Yes, I'm lazy and can't be bothered carrying it.

"No idea." He panted back at me, and we continued following Taylor and Liam's backs.

Eventually, we came to a halt in front of a stream. The spot we'd stopped at was wide enough, and probably deep enough, to swim in, and that's exactly what Liam was doing.

He'd ripped his shirt off, and was wading into the pool, the egg with him.

I walked forward to stand next to Taylor.

"What's he doing?" I asked, watching as Liam dived down under the water, taking the egg with him.

"The champions had to open the egg underwater to understand it. Therefore, for us to open it, we must have to put it in the water. It's not exactly the same as what the champions had to do, but obviously MagiScreen didn't want to copy. It's similar enough, though, that knowledge of the Triwizard Tournament helps us a lot." She said, smiling to herself.

I just nodded along, pretending to understand. I'm sure Rob was too.

I might have the smartest witch of the generation for a mother, but I'm just not a logical, riddle solving person.

"Got the first clue." Liam says, rising out of the water, clutching the (now open) egg.

"What is it?" I asked, ever the curious one.

He laid the egg down on the ground, open, so we could all see inside it. Etched onto the inside of the golden metal, was:

_In the year 1050, _

_I lived next to a marsh_

_I wrote something down, _

_That today has become legend. _

_Who am I?_

_There was a place, _

_Where flying rocks, _

_And a leather ball_

_Were seen. _

_Find a place like this. _

_When you find it, _

_Win the game, _

_Use the name. _

_And the second clue is yours. _

"Quidditch." I said with a smile.

Rob, Taylor and Liam all looked at me.

"What?" Liam asked, confused.

"You don't know what this means, do you?" I asked him, smiling still.

It felt good to know something Ravenclaws don't.

They all shook their heads, so I continued.

"I come from a family of Quidditch fanatics. I'm one myself, I was a Chaser for Gryffindor."

"I know this, Rose. What's your point?" Liam said.

Well, of course he knew that. He was in my year.

"My point is that the name we need is Gertie Keddle. The place has to look like Queerditch Marsh, so that shouldn't be too hard to find on an island. And the game we have to win is Quidditch, with only four people. So I'm hoping one of you can seek and someone's a decent keeper."

They all gaped at me.

It feels _good_ to know things.

"I used to be a keeper." Rob says, and I nod at him.

"Liam, didn't you play reserve seeker for a while?" I ask him.

"Yeah, but only because Hodge had dragon pox." He said.

"That's fine. Taylor, have you played?" I ask, turning towards her.

She shook her head.

"No, not really." She replies.

"Well, that's alright I guess. Three out of four ain't bad." I said, grinning now.

Wow, being the person who knows things is getting to my head.

"Wow." I exclaimed, staring across the marsh infront of me.

It had taken us an hour, but we'd found the marsh. It was pretty big, so it was hard to miss.

And there were four broomsticks hovering in front of us, another four flying around of their own accord, rock-like bludgers zooming around, one swooping over our heads, a Quaffle sitting just in front of me, and a snitch flickering about, I caught a glimpse of it before.

Looks like we were playing Quidditch against _broomsticks_.

I saw one hit a bludger before.

That's right, a broomstick hit a bludger.

This keeps getting weirder and weirder.

I wonder how a broomstick will catch the Snitch?

As soon as that thought occured to me, the broomstick hovering to my left morphed so that it's handle ended in a hand, yes, a _hand_, rather than the normal rounded end.

Odd.

But imagine if all the professional Quidditch teams had a set of these broomsticks? The training possibilities would be endless...especially if you could program them to play, I don't know, brutally or in the style of the Russian teams...

"Rose?" Rob calls my name, snapping his fingers in front of my face.

Right. Zoning out into Quidditch land isn't a good idea when in a competition.

"Alright, guys!" I said, channeling the Quidditch captain side in me.

Actually, I was just remembering James' awful pep talks that tended to send me to sleep, but the inspiration was still there.

"Let's go! Liam, catch the snitch as fast as you can. We'll keep everything else under control."

And with that, we mounted the brooms, and the strangest match I've ever played in, or seen, began.

I must say, it's very, very odd to be stealing the Quaffle from a broom.

The two 'chaser' brooms tended to just hit it back and forth between them, which makes it easier to steal.

Which was good for us, after twenty minutes we were up by 40 points with very little effort.

We don't have a beater, and neither to the 'Sticks' as Rob keeps calling them. The bludgers are roaming free, Taylor only narrowly avoided one before.

We scored a few more times, ducked a few more bludgers, the 'Sticks scored once (Rob really was doing a superb job blocking their attempts) and the Snitch seems to have disappeared.

"LIAM!" I screamed, spotting a gleam of gold to my right.

"It's here!" I pointed to the Snitch, almost falling off my broom in excitement.

That's the advantage of having non-human opponents, they don't understand when you point to something and scream.

Within a matter of seconds, Liam had caught the Snitch and it was all over.

Now all we had to do is figure out how to recieve the next clue using the name Gertie Keddle, and then we were all set.

Awesome.

"Good job, guys!" I said as I landed, clapping Liam on the back.

"How do we get the next clue?" Rob asks, turning to Liam and Taylor as per usual.

We all look around us, but nothing jumps out as a place to shout a name and recieve a clue.

I grab the Snitch out of Liam's palm, and examine it for something to do whilst the Ravenclaws do what they do best.

"Gertie Keddle." I mumble, turning the words over on my tongue.

I whisper the name a few more times, and to my surprise, the snitch falls open, into two perfect halves.

Like an idiot, I stare at it in complete shock. Rob's gaping at it too, but Liam and Taylor are too caught up in their intelligent discussion to notice.

"Um, guys?" I say, holding the Snitch out, revealing the scrap of parchment incased within.

Liam grabs the clue, and reads it out.

_I know only what you tell me, _

_The only way I learn is with the help of others. _

_I hold things that are not my own, _

_And live in the past, never the present. _

_What am I?_

Scrawled at the bottom, in a different script, was;

_Once you have the answer, report back to base camp to recieve the final clue. _

Well, at least that's a bit simpler than a _Quidditch_ game.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could already see Liam and Taylor deep in thought. Rob shrugs at me, and we both simultaneously plop down on the grass, waiting, once again, for the Ravenclaws to figure everything out.

I was really starting to like Rob. He was like me, though clearly not as Quidditch obsessed.

And male. You know, minor detail, that one.

Oh, and he doesn't have stupid red hair...

I fiddled with the backpack's straps, one hand twisting them around and around, the other pulling at my hair as the sound of Liam and Taylor's soft chatter carried on in the background.

"So, why'd you enter this thing?" I asked Rob absentmindedly, my gaze still on the backpack.

He was silent for a minute, thinking.

"I don't really know. Seemed like a good idea at the time, a bit of fun and worst case scenario, I lost a month of my life. Big deal. Plus, I could win some money. That'd be nice, being a wandmaker's apprentice isn't exactly flashy."

I laughed slightly, looking up at him.

"Fair enough." I grinned, moving to play with the zip on the backpack, instead of the straps.

"Why'd you enter?" He asks me, and I give the classic response, and eye-roll accompanied by a groan.

"My cousins and brother entered me. Apparently they thought it'd be a good idea." I said, my eyes narrowing at the mere thought of the traitorous quartet.

"Really? But you don't hate it now you're here, right?" He asked.

"I mean, you're not doing badly. You rocked that last clue." He grinned at me.

I considered that.

"I don't know. There's not much I can do about it now, and I might as well make the most of this opportunity. I guess the money helps." I grinned widely at him, and we both laughed lightly, before settling into a comfortable silence, waiting for the trusty Ravenclaws to figure out the clue.

I honestly had no idea how I would've survived these clues without Ravenclaws. Despite being a loyal Gryffie, I had to appreciate all Ravenclaw had to offer.

I mean, daring and chivalry were hardly _helpful_ qualities in these sorts of situations. Brains, however? Pretty much essential.

Even Slytherin (as much as I hate to say it), would be able to put something on the table. Cunning, and what not. They were _made_ for competition like this.

At least being a Gryffindor was better than being a Hufflepuff, though.

They'd probably _hand_ their backpack over to someone if they asked. Bless them.

"Hey, guys?"

Rob and I looked up, to see a triumphant Ravenclaw duo grinning at us.

"Time to make a trip back to base camp."

**A/N: Not the most thrilling chapter, I know, but stuff will happen soon! It will, I swear! **


End file.
